Codford Circle is a 'hilltop enclosure' on the crest of a hill. It dates from the transition between the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age, and probably had a agricultural function, maybe for granaries. Hilltop enclosures are very unusual, with less than 30 recorded and only in England (though some may have been later been developed into more defensive sites, so disguising their origins). Most are found on the chalk downland of Wessex, Sussex and the Cotswolds, with a few in Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
Colt Hoare visited it and recorded that it was known as 'Oldbury Camp' locally. The 1:25000 OS map however has the alternative name 'Wilsbury Ring'.
It encloses eight acres of a flat hilltop, and has views over the Wylye valley.
(from EH's record of scheduled monuments and 'Exploring Ancient Wiltshire' by George Osborn 1982)
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Posted by Rhiannon
4th November 2003ce
Edited 9th January 2007ce
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